Old Dominion scored 14 straight points, including six from Bacote and five from Keenan Palmore, early in the second half to open up a 39-27 lead with just more than 16 minutes to play.

A 3-pointer by Jordan Sims with 12:08 to play pulled UTSA (7-14, 3-5 Conference USA) within eight, but the Monarchs responded with an 8-0 run, sparked by back-to-back 3s from Jordan Baker, which extended the ODU lead to 55-39 about 3 1/2 minutes later.

A 13-4 spurt by the Roadrunners pulled them within seven with, 61-54, with 3:02 remaining, but ODU (11-12, 5-3) made 9 of 12 free throws the rest of the way to seal the victory.